Door locking and sealing arrangement



April 18, 1967 H. J. cARLsoN ETAL 3,314,706

DOOR LOCKING AND SEALING ARRANGEMENT INVENTORS Haro/a J.' Car/.son

April 18, 1967 H.J. CARLSON ETAL 3,314,706

DOOR LOCKING AND SEALING ARRANGEMENT 3 Sheetsheet 2 Filed Sept. 5, 1964 INVENTORS /fa/o/a' JC'ar/o'o/v f90/and J O/a/vd'er BY April 18, 1967 H.J. CARLSON ETAL 3,314,706

DOOR LCKING AND SEALING ARRANGEMENT Filed Sept. 3, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS /raro/d J Car/.son f90/and r/T Olaf/der United States Patent Office Slidd Patented Apr. i8, 1967 3,314,706 DOOR LOCKING AND SEALHNG ARRANGEMENT Harold l. Carlson, Lakeside, Mich., and Roland .lL Olander, La Grange, Ill., assignors to W. H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 394,282 9 Claims. (Cl. 292-i96) This invention relates in general to railway car locking devices and more particularly to a locking or latching arrangement for use in a plural or multiple freight car.

For ease in loading freight cars with certain types of freight, such as lumber, for instance, it is desirable that the car sides be composed of enough doors to provide loading openings at various positions along the side of the car which are equivalent to one-half the car length. For instance, a Llit-foot car could be provided with six 8-foot doors. The doors are slidable or movable along the side of the car and are adapted to be slid into an overlapping relationship with each other. Although such all-door structural arrangements permit wide openings to be provided in the sides of the car for loading purposes, several inherent problems are presented with respect to locking the doors after same are closed. Thus, in cars having four or six doors on a side, each door might be locked by its own locking arrangement, but this in turn is a wasteful and uneconomic procedure. In addition, if the doors are not rigidly held with respect to each other, the vibrational and other stresses set up during movement of the car tend to loosen the doors.

The present invention provides a solution for these problems in a simple and unique manner. Thus, in a freight car having four doors on a side with one pair being slidable on one track and the other pair slidable on a track extending parallel thereto, a single locking assembly is utilized for locking all of the doors into a rigid assembly. This is done by providing an elongated lock and seal member rotatably mounted on one `door about an axis offset from the plane of the doors and adapted, after locking of the mechanism, to be wedged against the edge juncture of both pair of doors to rigidly hold the doors in their closed positions.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved locking and sealing arrangement for a plural or multiple door freight car.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a single locking assembly for a multiple door freight car.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a locking arrangement for more rigidly securing all of the doors of a multiple door freight car relative to one another when closed and also to provide an effective seal therebetween.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent on examination of the following specification, claims and drawings, wherein:

FIG. l is a general elevational view of the four doors of a freight car which dene the side thereof with the doors shown broken along their vertical axes and locked in their closed positions by the novel locking assembly of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan View of the doors shown in FIG. l showing the offset relationship between the two pair of doors and the locking assembly operable therebetween;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged scale vertically broken elevational View illustrating the locking assembly in greater detail;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged scale horizontal section of the locking assembly in its locked condition taken generally along line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section similar to FIG. 4 of the locking assembly in its unlocked condition.

Cil

in FIG. 1 of the drawings a group of doors 10, 12, 14 and la are shown with the doors broken along their longitudinal vertical axes. The doors form the side of an all-door freight or commodity car with the doors 10 and l2 being slidable together lor separately along one linear path and the doors ltd and i6 being sldable in another linear path spaced from but extending parallel to the one linear path. As is well known in the art, freight car doors such as those shown in the drawings are longitudinally slidable between fixed vertical end structure at opposite ends of the car. As the fixed end structure, the specilic rail or track structure at the upper and lower edges of the doors i0, l2, 14 and 16, and any roller arrangement for supporting the doors therefrom or thereon constitute no part of the present invention, same are not shown in detail in the drawings. However, in FIG. l, rollers 18 of the type that may be raised after movement of the doors into desired positions are shown somewhat diagrammatically at the lower edges of the doors. For the purposes of the invention, it is only of importance to note, as shown in FiG. 2, that the pair of doors 14 and 16 are slidable along a linear path which is offset or spaced inwardly or rearwardly of, but parallel to, a linear path along which the pair of doors itl and 12 are slidable. The doors are thus arranged in pairs with any door being adapted to be moved along its trackway into either a tandem or overlapping relationship with the doors of the other pair. This will either close the car or provide an opening of desired size and at a desired location therein. When closed, the doors 12 and 14 form an edge juncture at the longitudinal center of the car in which their edges are adjoining but offset as seen in FiG. 2 and they, together with doors 10 and i6, are adapted to be locked in position by a novel locking and sealing assembly 2lb.

The locking and sealing assembiy 2@ comprises an elongated vertically arranged lock bar or rod 22 rotatably supported in hinges or brackets 2d. A handle member 26 is rigidly xed to the bar 22 for the purpose of manually rotating the bar in the brackets 24. The handle is adapted to be rotated against the wall of door l2 where it may be held in that position by a clip 28.

The brackets 2d are fastened on one leg 3@ of an L- shaped metal plate 32 mounted on the door i2. The other leg 34 of the plate 32 abuts the right vertical edge of the door 12 adjacent door ld as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. Similar plates 36 are provided for the other edges of door l?. and for the edges of the other doors for the purpose of protection. A series of spaced apart hinges 38 are carried by the door l2 adjacent the leg .34 of plate 32 and each hinge has a mounting flange d@ extending through openings or notches in the leg 34 to permit the hinges 3S to be supported at respective positions on the door l2.

The hinges 3S are provided with bifurcations i2 as seen in FIG. 3 and a hinge butt 454 is rotatably supported between the bifurcations d2 by means of a pin 45. Both the hinges 38 and the hinge butts d4 have a generally circular periphery and nest in a correspondingly shaped portion dit of a J -shaped lock and seal member 5) which is also characterized by an elongated sealing arm 54. The hinge butts i4 have slightly larger diameters than the bifurcations 42 and are welded, at 52 for example, in FiGS. 4 and 5, to the inner wall of the l -shaped portion so that the lock and seal member Sil is rotatably supported on the hinges 38.

It wiil be noted that the hinges 38 project slightly outwardly of the plane of the door l2 so that the axis of rotation 555 of the hinge butts 44 and the lock and seal member 5d is offset outwardly of door i2. Therefore, any movement of the door t2 to the right, as seen in the drawings, tends to force the elongated sealing arm 54 of the member 5@ even more tightly against the edge of the asili-,vea

door 14 when the lock and seal member 50 is in its locked position, as will be described.

The lock and seal member extends practically the full height of the doors and the outer surface (FIGS. 4 and 5) of its J-shaped portion 48 has a series of spaced apart ilange-like bosses 56 mounted thereon. Each ilangelike boss 56 is nested between the legs 58 at one end of an operating link 60. Each link 6) is rotatably connected to the respective boss 56 by a pin 62 and each has a somewhat arcuate conguration with its other end terminating in a pair of spaced apart legs 6d. One end of an operating lever 66 is rotatably supported between the legs 64- by means of a pin 68 and the other end of the operating lever is fastened to the lock bar 22 by welds 70 (FIGS. 4 and 5), for example.

To open the lock assembly 20, the handle 26 is rotated outwardly from the door 12 to in turn rotate the lock bar 22 in a counterclockwise direction. The operating levers 66 are also rotated counterclockwise and they carry the operating links to the right as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 5. The force of this movement is transmitted through the pins 62 and the bosses 56 to rotate the elongated lock and seal member 50 counterclockwise about its axis of rotation 53 and to bring the elongated sealing arm 54 of the lock member 50 out of engagement with the edge of the door 14 and into engagement with the inner surface of the door 12 as seen in FlG. 5. The arm S4 is normally held in this position against the door 12 with any forces tending to rotate the member 5t) about axis 53 being transmitted through pin 62 and link 60 to pin 68. Since a component of this force is transmitted along a radial line 72 extending from the axis of rotation of the lock bar 22, rotation about the lock bar 22 is resisted and therefore rotation of the lock member 50 is also resisted. The doors 10, 12, 14 and 16 may therefore be moved freely and doors 11i and 12 can be moved into overlapping relationship with doors 14 and 16 or vice versa as needed for loading.

In order to lock the side of the car, the respective doors 1t), 12, 14 and 16 are aligned in tandem relationship with the edges of doors 12 and 14- in adjoining but offset relationship. The handle 26 is then rotated clock-wise, approximately 180, into a position against the outer wall of the door 12 and into engagement with the clip 2S. The lock bar 22 therefore rotates in the same direction to carry the lever 66 therewith. The operating link 60 follows this movement while swinging the lock member 50 in a clockwise direction about its axis of rotation 53. The lock member Sti thus swings through approximately 90 until its elongated sealing arm 54 abuts the edge of door 14 with further movement serving to wedge the doors 14 and 16 together against the right side of the car frame and the doors 10 and 12 against the left side of the car frame. Although the end of the I -shaped portion 43 of the lock and seal member 5d tightly abuts the outer surface of the plate 32 on the door 12 as shown in FG. 4 to complete the seal between the offset adjacent edges of the doors 12 and 14, it is to be understoood that the invention is not to be limited to this specific structural arrangement.

While the lock member S13 moves through 90 during locking of same, the pin 63 is carried over an arc of greater magnitude, as may be seen by comparison of FGS. 4 and 5, to a position behind the lock bar 22 and :adjacent the lplate 32. The radial line 72 on which pin Y68 rotates about bar 22 is transferred from a position generally parallel to a radial line 74 extending from pin 62 to the axis 53, as seen in FIG. 5, to a position where the radial lines 72 and 74 are adapted to intersect at a juncture 7S (FIG. 4) lying between the lock bar 22 and the lock member 56. This thus provides an overcenter locking arrangement.

Thus, if force should be exerted to move the doors 1) and 12 to the right, this tends to rotate the lock member 511 counterclockwise about lthe axis 53 wedging the elongated arm 54 more tightly against the door 14 to rigidity the assembly while the back pressure is also transmitted through the hinges 38 to resist movement of the door 12. if the doors 14 and 16 should tend to move to the left, the force exerted against arm 54 is transmitted through pin 62 and link 6() 4to the pin 68 and since that force either tends to pull the pin 63 along its radial line 72 or to rotate the pin clockwise about bar 22, considerable resistance to further movement of the doors is also encountered.

it is noted that the foregoing structural arrangement permits the locking and sealing of one side of an all door freight car having multiple doors by means of a single locking and sealing assembly of the type shown and described.

rthe foregoing is a description of one embodiment of an improved lock and seal assembly for a plural door freight car, the inventive concepts of which are believed more fully set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a lock and seal assembly for use on a plural door freight car in which one pair of doors is arranged for movement along one trackway and lanother pair of doors is arranged for movement along another trackway offset from said one trackway and in which said doors are in a generally tandem arrangement when closed with adjacent vertical edges of one door of each pair in adjacent but offset positions, the improvement comprising a lock and seal member which extends the full length of the doors and which is rotatably carried by one of said doors adjacent one of said edges, said lock Iand seal member being adapted to engage the adjacent edge of the other door along its length when rotated in one direction for forcing said doors in opposite directions and being adapted to be arranged in a generally parallel position to said doors when rotated in the opposite direction to permit free movement of all of said doors, means for rotating said lock and seal member in opposite directions, and means operable in response to the engagement of sa-id lock and seal member with said other door for preventing inadvertent disengagement of said assembly.

2. The assembly claimed in claim 1 in which said means for preventing disengagement comprises a first pin carried by said lock and seal member for rotation about the axis of rotation of said member, a second pin rotatable about an axis otlset from said rst pin, and an operating link rotatably connected between both of said pins.

3. The assembly `claimed in claim 2 in which said second pin is rotatable about said offset axis through an are greater than the arc through which said lock and seal lmember is rotatable whereby said second pin is positioned so that forces transmitted to said lock and seal member from said doors are adapted to act along the radial line from said offset axis.

In the assembly in claim 2, said rotating means comprising a lock bar rotatably carried by said one door coaxialiy with said offset axis and carrying said second pin for rotation about said oiiset axis whereby to rotate said lock and seal member in opposite directions.

5. n a lock and seal assembly for use on a plural door freight car in which one door is arranged for movement along one trackway and another door is arranged for movement along anot-her trackway extending parallel to but otfset from said one trackway and in which said doors are in a generally tandem arrangement when closed with adjacent vertical edges thereof being oiiset from each other, the improvement comprising a lock and seal memher rotatablycarred by one door adjacent one of said vertical edges, a vertically elongated arm on said lock member adapted to engage substantially the full length of the adjacent oiset edge when said lock and seal mem ber is rotated in one direction for applying a force against said oiiset edge to force said doors in opposite directions along the respective trackways, and means for manually rotating said lock and seal member in either said one direction to engage said elongated arm against said adjacent offset edge or in the opposite direction to position said elongated arm generally parallel to said `one door so :as to permit free movement of all doors, said means being characterized by an over-center locking arrangement which prevents inadvertent disengagement of said elongated arm from said offset arm.

6. In a lock and seal assembly for use on a freight car having a plurality of movable doors with one door adapted to have one edge aligned adjacent :to the ed-ge of another door and offset from said other door, the improvement comprising a lock bar rotatably carried by said one door, a plurality of spaced apart hinges projecting from said one door, a lock and seal member rotatably carried by said hinges for rotation on a vertical axis offset outwardly of said one door and having an elongated arm extending substantially the full height of said doors, an operating link pivotally mounted at one end on said lock and seal member, an operating lever carried by said lock bar for :rot-ation therewith, and means pivotally connecting the other end of said operating link to said operating lever whereby rotation of said lock bar in one direction rotates said elongated arm of said lock and seal member into locking fand sealing engagement with the edge of said other door.

7. In a lock and seal assembly for use on a freight car having a plurality of movable doors arranged to form one side of said car with one door adapted to have one edge aligned adjacent to the edge of another door and offset from said other door when said doors are closed to form said side, the improvement comprising a lock bar rotatably carried by said one door, a lock and seal member carried for rotation about a vertical axis by said one door and having an elongated arm extending substantially the full height of said doors, said axis being oifset outwardly from said one door and lying generally between said adjacent edges of said doors, and means pivotally connected between said lock bar and said lock and seal member for transmitting the rotation of said bar in one direction into rotation of said elongated arm on said lock and seal member into locking and sealing engagement with the said adjacent oifset edges of said doors.

8. In a lock and seal assembly for use on a freight car having a plurality of movable doors with one door adapted to have one edge aligned adjacent to the edge of another door and offset from said other door, the improvement comprising a lock bar rotatably carried by said one door, a vertically extending lock and seal member having a height corresponding to that of the doors and being J- 50 shaped in horizontal cross section, a plurality of spaced hinge arms mounted on Asaid one door with each hinge arm carrying a hinge butt for rotation about an axis offset outwardly from said one door and lying generally between said adjacent edges of said doors, said hinge butts being xedly nested in the arcuate portion of said yI-shaped lock and seal member, an operating link pivotally mounted on said lock and seal member, and an operating lever pivotally connected between said lock bar and said operating link in a manner such that rota-tion of said lock bar in one direction rotates the non-arcuate portion of said J -shaped lock and seal member into sealing engagement with the edge of said other door, said sealing `engagement being retained by an over-center lock defined by s-aid pivotally connected elements.

9. In a lock and seal assembly for use on a multiple door freight car in which one pair of doors is arranged in tandem for movement along one trackway and another pair of doors is arranged in tandem for movement along another trackway parallel to but oirset from said one trackway and in which all of said doors are in a generally tandem arrangement when closed yto form one side of said car with vertical edges of one door of each pair being d1sposed in adjacent but offset positions, the imin one direction to engage the said lock member being vertically elongated and extending a distance corresponding to the height of said doors whereby to provide a seal between said offset door edges along the full height thereof, and means coupled to said member for resisting inadvertent rotation of said lock member in an opposite direction when said lock member is engaged with said adjacent oiset vertical edge.

References Cited by the Examiner EDWARD C. ALLEN, Primary Examiner. RICHARD E. MOORE, Examiner. 

7. IN A LOCK AND SEAL ASSEMBLY FOR USE ON A FREIGHT CAR HAVING A PLURALITY OF MOVABLE DOORS ARRANGED TO FORM ONE SIDE OF SAID CAR WITH ONE DOOR ADAPTED TO HAVE ONE EDGE ALIGNED ADJACENT TO THE EDGE OF ANOTHER DOOR AND OFFSET FROM SAID OTHER DOOR WHEN SAID DOORS ARE CLOSED TO FORM SAID SIDE, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A LOCK BAR ROTATABLY CARRIED BY SAID ONE DOOR, A LOCK AND SEAL MEMBER CARRIED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS BY SAID ONE DOOR AND HAVING AN ELONGATED ARM EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL HEIGHT OF SAID DOORS, SAID AXIS BEING OFFSET OUTWARDLY FROM SAID ONE DOOR AND LYING GENERALLY BETWEEN SAID ADJACENT EDGES OF SAID DOORS, AND MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID LOCK BAR AND SAID LOCK AND SEAL MEMBER FOR TRANSMITTING THE ROTATION OF SAID BAR IN ONE DIRECTION INTO ROTATION OF SAID ELONGATED ARM ON SAID LOCK AND SEAL MEMBER INTO LOCKING AND SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SAID ADJACENT OFFSET EDGES OF SAID DOORS. 